A plan for the government to combat antisemitism

SBS Australia

3 days ago

It's been recommended that the federal government adopt new measures in in education, workplaces, public institutions and the media to combat antisemitism in Australia. Amongst the recommendations is a nationally-consistent plan to teach about relevant history, as well as modern forms of antisemitism. The recommendations come from a report undertaken over the past nine months, overseen by Jillian Segal, the special envoy appointed by the government to combat antisemitism. A key finding of the report that informs the recommendations, is a 300 per cent rise in reported incidents of antisemitism since 2023. The reported incidents include threats, vandalism, harassment, physical violence and destruction of property. Ms Segal says all Australians, not just Jews, have a stake in stopping antisemitism. "These are not isolated events, and they form part of a broader pattern of intimidation and violence that is making Jewish Australians feel very unsafe. And this should concern every Australian, because the safety and dignity of one community effects us all." Nine newspapers are reporting the United States is considering changing the terms of the AUKUS deal, asking Australia to pay more for promised submarines. The $368 billion pact is under review by the U-S - to ensure it meets Donald Trump's America First criteria. Shadow Finance Minister James Paterson has told Sky News the federal government isn't moving fast enough on the issue. 'Any country with any diplomatic heft or ability to move quickly would be all over this, and I've got no sense that all of that's happening from the Albanese government. It is now 247 days since President Trump was elected and Anthony Albanese is one of the only world leaders not to have had a face-to-face meeting with him.' Property website Domain's latest quarterly rental report reveals Darwin is the only capital city in Australia in which rental prices have lowered in the past three months. For much of the country, the median rent for houses has been unchanged for the past year, after a surge in rental prices in recent years. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, house rents across combined capitals have climbed 47.7 per cent and 44.4 per cent for apartments. The report also points to a lack of available homes for renters, with a vacancy rate around 2 per cent for most cities. The mother of missing German backpacker - Caroline Wilga - has made an emotional appeal in the search for her daughter. She posted on social media, saying she needs help as she can't do much from Germany, adding that anyone with information must contact police. The 26 year-old was last seen in Western Australia's wheat belt in Beacon, a town 330 kilometres north east of Perth on the 29th of June. The state's major crime squad and homicide unit are now investigating the disappearance, after her phone was switched off and she failed to maintain contact with loved ones. Ms Wilga is of slim build with dark blonde or brown hair and could be travelling in a two-toned black and silver Mitsubishi van. A European court has found Russia was responsible for downing Malaysian Airlines flight M-H 17 in 2014. All 253 people on board the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, died - 38 of them Australians. This ruling is largely symbolic - Russia did not participate in the probe and is disregarding its findings. European Court of Human Rights Court President, Mattias Guyomar says Russia did not make efforts to identify M-H 17 as a civilian aircraft. 'No measures were taken by Russia to accurately identify the intended target of the missile in breach of international human law. The killing of the civilians onboard flight MH17 could not be described as a lawful act of war and violated the right to life under the Convention." Judges also unanimously found Russia had tortured and raped civilians, kidnapped children and used sexual violence as a war weapon since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The United States has retaliated against United Nations special rapporteur on human rights, Francesca Albanese, laying sanctions against her. U-S Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the move against Ms Albanese, saying it is made due to her efforts to have the International Criminal Court take action against the U-S. Mr Rubio used social media platform, X, to describe what he claims is her "campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel that will not be tolerated". In a statement, he accused the expert of bias and malicious activities, antisemitism and support of terrorism. This month, Ms Albanese presented a list of companies she said were profiting from what she sayys is illegal occupation and genocide of Palestinians by Israel. In tennis, Novak Djokovic has extended his world record by qualifying for a 52nd major tournament semi-final. The 38 year-old has defeated Italy's Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, winning in four sets, 6-7, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. Djokovic says he's coming out the match not feeling his best, and has some recovering to do before his semi-final against Jannik Sinner tomorrow night. "I'm hoping the next 24, 48 hours that the severity of what was happening on the court and what happened is not too bad, that I'll be able to play at my best and free of pain in two days." The winner of the Djokovic-Sinner semi-final will play play either Carlos Alcaraz or Taylor Fritz in the final.